Category Archives: Venice Beach California

According to the car rental agency on Lincoln Boulevard, it will begin offering the Tesla Model S for rent at the rate of $375 per day.

A press release published by MPG Car Rental described the Model S as hybrid vehicle with power but perfect for drivers who are ecologically conscious.

The Tesla Model S is known as a vehicle that, unlike the hybrid or traditional automobile, does not emit any exhaust.

Base retail price for a Tesla Model S generally starts at about $70,000, though performance-level iterations of the green vehicle reach the $90,000 to $100,000 range.

MPG Car Rental actually offers many hybrid and electric vehicles for its customers. The Tesla is the rental company’s 19th ecologically friendly vehicle available for rent. Other green vehicles available for rent from MPG Car Rental include the BMW i3, Chevrolet Volt, Ford C-Max, Honda Insight, Nissan Lead, Toyota Prius, and Volkswagen Jetta TDI, among others.

According to news reports, MPG Car Rental was the first-ever company to offer the BMW i3 for rent.

More information about the Tesla Model S rental and other vehicles within the company’s fleet can be found at the MPG Car Rental website (http://mpgcarrental.com) or by calling them at (877) 870-7821 or (310) 305-0505.

MPG Car Rental is located at 2423 Lincoln Boulevard here in Venice Beach.

A boxing promoter based here in Venice announced on Aug. 18 a fighter has been named as a mandatory challenger in a world title bout scheduled to take place at some point before Dec. 31, 2014.

Ola “Kryptonite” Afolabi was named by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) as the mandatory challenger to cruiserweight world champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez in the title fight scheduled for later this year.

As a date has not yet been finalized, the location of this world title bout is currently unknown.

The announcement of Afolabi as Hernandez’s mandatory opponent was made by K2 Promotions, which is based in Venice and headed by Tom Loeffler.

Afolabi, a London native who now resides in Los Angeles, sports a record of 23 wins (10 by knockout) against three losses and four draws.

“I’m thrilled to be challenging for the IBF world title. Tom and K2 have done a great job promoting me and putting me in this position and I will take the title from Hernandez,” Afolabi said in a released statement.

Winning a split decision over Firat Arslan on Aug. 16 in Erfurt, Germany, Hernandez has a record of 29-1-0 with 14 knockouts. Arslan’s victory last weekend was his fourth defense of his title.

“We’re excited that Ola is now the mandatory challenger for the IBF Cruiserweight Championship. Ola has proven to be one of the best cruiserweights in the world and we strongly believe that he will bring home the IBF world title in this fight,” Loeffler stated.

The 34-year-old Afolabi, who is managed by Loeffler and K2 Promotions, has fought in 173 rounds of boxing and most recently defeated Anthony Caputo Smith on July 26 at Madison Square Garden in New York. His last defeat was June 8, 2013, against Marco Huck in Berlin, Germany.

A southpaw, Fernandez, 29, reportedly retained his IBF cruiserweight belt after two of three judged scored their respective cards in his favor last weekend in Erfurt, Germany. A Cuban-German, Fernandez has fought all 30 of his fights in Germany. His sole defeat came at the hands of fellow southpaw Wayne Braithwaite in March 2008; Fernandez has since won 15 straight matches, including the interim WBA cruiserweight title in March 2011 and the IBC cruiserweight belt in October 2011.

In addition to promoting Afolabi, Venice-based K2 Promotions has also promoted unified heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko, among other boxers. The company states it has promoted the most heavyweight championship bouts in the world during the past decade.

Venice beachgoers who head a few miles south to Dockweiler State Beach to participate in the Southern California pastime of lighting bonfires a few feet away from the shore suffered a little bit of bad news late last week. A State Senate committee in Sacramento voted on Aug. 15 to shelve a bill proposing to protect as many as 700 bonfire rings at California’s beaches, including dozens in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Despite gaining bipartisan support earlier this year, Assembly Bill 1102 failed to gain enough support in the State Senate to come to a full – and favorable – vote before the end of the current legislative session.

Accordingly, the legislative charge to allow beach bonfires to continue will be put on hold until at least the next legislative session.

Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) introduced AB 1102 in Sacramento. His district is home to several bonfire rings just off of Pacific Coast Highway at Bolsa Chica State Beach.

However, beach bonfires became an issue – and ultimately a political battle – when the Newport Beach City Council voted last year to remove at least half of the bonfire rings at beaches within its boundaries due to health concerns raised by residents who claim their respective homes were directly impacted by the fire’s smoke.

The Southern California Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and Sierra Club both opposed AB 1102.

The SCAQMD reportedly wanted to act upon the Newport City Council decision and prevent bonfire rings from existing within 700 feet away from homes.

It is unclear whether any of the bonfire rings at Dockweiler is within 700 feet of any homes. The southern portion of the beach is beneath the flight path of planes taking off from LAX and no homes are anywhere near that lower half of Dockweiler. There are homes abutting the northern half of the beach.

Those reportedly in favor of AB 1102 – and preserving bonfire rings at local beaches – included the California Coastal Commission, the Surfrider Foundation, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the NAACP, and Coastwalk California, among other groups and individuals.

The arts scene in Venice Beach just became a little more crowded, as Team Gallery has opened up shop at 306 Winward Ave. and reportedly named its space “Team Bungalow.”

No formal announcement was ever made by the contemporary art gallery, other than simply adding Team Bungalow’s address and phone number on its website.

True to its name, the new art gallery will, according to Gallerist NY, primarily occupy a bungalow and some garage space.

Team Bungalow now makes Team Gallery a bi-coastal venture. Team Gallery – or “team (gallery, inc.)” as it is written on its website – was exclusively a New York establishment prior to its foray into Venice Beach. It has two addresses in Lower Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood – 83 Grand and 47 Wooster.

Founded by Jose Freire and Lisa Ruyter in 1996, Team Gallery was originally founded in a basement in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood before reportedly moving to SoHo in 2006. The gallery opened a second space in SoHo in 2011.

Several notable artists have been represented by Team Gallery, including Cory Arcangel, Suzanne McClelland, Andreas Schulze, and Banks Violette, among others.

Interestingly enough, despite its New York roots Team Gallery’s debut exhibition 18 years ago reportedly featured the solo show of California-based David Ratcliffe.

Over here in Venice Beach, Arcangel will be the first artist featured at Team Bungalow. His works will be on display from Sept. 14 to Nov. 9 in an exhibition entitled “tl;dr.”

(Note: “tl;dr” is short for “too long; didn’t read” as is a phrase generally used in the social media space.)

After Arcangel’s exhibition, Team Bungalow will finish off 2014 with the works of Margaret Lee. Her exhibition will run from Nov. 16 to Jan. 25, 2015.

Earlier this year, the Team Gallery folks were in Los Angeles hosting a three-day art fair at Paramount Studios. Entitled “Paris Photo Los Angeles,” the art fair featured the works of Arcangel, Alex Bag, Pierre Bismuth, Carina Brandes, Ryan McGinley, and Sam Samore.

The website for both Team Gallery and Team Bungalow is at www.teamgal.com.